Team Dad Assemble!
by Cryssy-miu
Summary: Inspired by a role play I'm doing with my best friend, Maxie and Archie live together forming Aqua and Magma as one team, going on expeditions to help pokemon and people while May and Brendan tag along and often live with them. Archie and Maxie easily know how to run a corporation, but do they know anything about raising children? Contains HardenShipping, and plenty of fluff!
1. Bad Bugs and Bed Bugs

_(AN: Thought I'd try this. I don't know how often it'll be updated since I'm in full time college, but I hope to update it as much as I can. There will be all sots of fluff, cuteness, and romance and family. I'm kind of making May's personality up since this is game based (and the protagonists have...the same dialogue really) Please review and I hope you enjoy!)_

Archie laid beside Maxie in the bed. Or more specifically, he laid with the red collar clutched tightly in his hand, the red head's strands of hair tickling his face. It would seem like a romantic setting, were it not for the fact the red-headed man in question was turned away from him and pretending to be sleeping.

"Trying to ignore me are you?" the burlier man asked, tracing his fingers on the other's pajama covered back. Maxie shuddered to the touch and pulled the blankets tighter into him. Archie only smirked. "Gonna shed _any_ of those layers tonight?" His tone was both teasing and seductive. Maxie's intolerance to even the slightest chill was a running joke in the base.

"If you would find a way to keep the rooms a little more heated..." the slimmer man huffed.

"It's summer, nerd boy." Archie heavily rolled his eyes and Maxie's obnoxious breath of air became louder, but after a moment he rolled over. Archie grinned cheekily at him and plucked the smaller man's glasses off his pale face. Scowling, Maxie tried to tug them back.

"We are in a cave," Maxie reminded, in the matter-of-fact tone he used where he'd be adjusting his glasses if they weren't swiped away. "It's naturally drafty, perhaps that's why half the team ended up sick-and the child as well."

Archie clicked his tongue. "I think it's because the little scamp and Shelly went on a snowy expedition rather under dressed. They were the ones that got the whole team sick." Somehow Archie and Maxie had escaped the symptoms and that was a miracle since Archie especially checked on May every few minutes.

"It's amazing how we somehow haven't contracted this yet," Maxie mused and the man at his side laughed.

"Not in your case, you practically wear a parka everywhere you go!"

"I do not wear a parka! I simply wear a few extra layers than you."

"Wimp."

"The cold bothers me!" As soon as the words left his lips Maxie found himself practically pinned under the leader of Team Aqua and flushed when their lips unexpectedly brushed. "Warn me when you're going to do that."

"Then it wouldn't be a surprise. Our relationship would have no spark." Archie flashed his teeth at Magma's leader and a slight smile tilted at Maxie's lips as he shoved halfheartedly away from him. Any further conversation was cut off by a sickly cough at the door, and Archie turned to see Shelly standing there, still hunched over from her lack of energy.

"The kid is having trouble sleeping and seems upset." She cut off with a cough and shuddered from a sudden chill. "I don't think she wants to be alone."

Maxie's brows furrowed with a scowl of annoyance but he saw the instant spark of concern in Archie's eyes that only lit for the kids. Right away, he knew that any chance of having the evening to themselves was out the window. Nothing came before his fondness for May and Brendan. "Archie..." The warmth left his body and he was left grappling with blankets to keep the cold away as Archie hopped up from their bed and stretched. "I'm there."

Maxie sat up and pulled the comforter with him. "Why can't Shelly look after her? Shelly has strong maternal feelings for the child anyway." Easy Maxie translation: 'I want to spend time with you and I don't want the pest getting in the way.'

"Shelly is even sicker than the kid," Archie reminded Maxie as he shrugged on a pair of slippers. "I don't want to leave her alone. Come on, you remember what it was like to be sick as a kid."

"Yes, my mother left me to the housemate to look after," Maxie snipped and yelped as a blanket was tossed onto his head, Archie casting him one last smirk before he slipped from the room. "She never even wants me." He tried to sound indifferent but there was a hint of jealousy.

"Probably doesn't want your condescending version of concern!"

Archie stretched as he made his way towards the room they designated for May. They had another one for Brendan just next door but it was May that had lived with them the past few months and journeyed with them for a change of scenery. They were accustomed to her presence and Brendan's as well. Archie spent plenty of time with May, but Maxie usually held back.

Archie found the poor girl laying in bed and shivering, despite the many layers of blankets over her. Her cheeks were flushed a painful looking red and sweat matted her hair. Concern gripped him like a vice.

"You look like you got caught in a stampede," he teased as he sat on the bed and gave the girl a few fond pats on the head. He felt her forehead and shook his head. Her forehead was too warm for his comfort. "Poor little scamp."

"I feel awful," the child murmured and Archie clicked his tongue and wrung out a cold cloth in a bucket of ice water next to her bed (Shelly and Matt probably had the same one by their own).

"You look like it too," the man smirked. He adjusted the blankets and her pillow, patting the child's hand lightly. "I'll be back to check on you in the morning." A warm hand touching his own turned his head back to her.

"Wait," May croaked out. "...I don't want to be alone."

The leader of Team Aqua grimaced slightly at what she was implying but those blue pleading eyes won him over like they always did. "Alright," he relented, his concern for the girl smothering his annoyance at getting his evening interrupted. Maxie probably wouldn't feel the same way, but the nerd would just have to suck it up. It wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't sick though...

Maxie balked immediately the moment he saw Archie walk in with a sick little girl behind him, and he recoiled as if the child had a deadly disease. _"No."_

"Can the germaphobe tendencies for a night, we've got a bedbug," Archie told him and pulled back the sheets for May with a chuckle.

"An ill one!" Maxie griped and pulled away to the other side of the bed as May wriggled in between them. He made a face as she coughed and he tried to shield his face. "What is she doing here?"

"She didn't want to be alone."

"The girl has pokemon!"

"She needs _human_ supervision."

Maxie gave a loud grunt of frustration and turned violently away from the two. Archie made a face at his back. He turned to May and gave her back a few fond pats, giving the girl an affectionate squeeze. He passed out in minutes, snoring obnoxiously while the kid next to him coughed.

Maxie was not by any means a sympathetic man and felt more annoyance for the ill-ridden girl at his side then compassion, but when he turned to glare at May ans saw her cheeks flushed with fever, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. After a heavy sigh he gently tucked the blankets around her shoulders. "Hopeless child..."

The man nearly jumped out of his thermal pajamas when he felt the sleeping girl unconsciously throw her arms around him, her arms warming around his middle. Maxie pried with the child's arms, trying to dislodge her, but the girl only cuddled closer. Finally, he rolled his eyes and laid there in defeat, giving the young one's hands a few light pats. Her knee drew up and with a powerful kick to his back, and with a yelp Maxie found himself on the floor in a tangled heap of blankets.

"Child!" he hissed to the sleeping girl and waved a frantic hand from the heap of blankets. "Archie! Wake up!" All Maxie received in response were loud snores and the man sighed, resigned to staying on the floor for the rest of the night.


	2. Wailmer Pancakes!

_A/N: Hey everyone, glad to see you're enjoying this fic. I've had time to write a couple chapters and the third one (it's in two parts) will be up possibly sometime tonight and tomorrow! I hope you all enjoy this one, it's filled with incomprehensible fluff!_

_Next chapter: It's the annual father/daughter picnic and May is planning on going with her father...that is, if he can make it._

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><p>"Pancakes for breakfast!" Archie chimed from the kitchen as he slapped several utensils together to alert the rest of the rousing team. Maxie threw his hands to his ears and May just eyed the smoking stove with eager blue eyes as ingredients were put out on the counters and aromas rose from the silver pans.<p>

"What will we have this morning?" Archie mused as he tossed out different colored stencils onto the table in front of May, and the girl leaned forward to examine them extensively. At last she pointed to a fat green one. "Wailmer pancakes!"

"Wailmer pancakes?"

"Wailmer pancakes!"

"Wailmer pancakes!"

Maxie simply rolled his eyes behind a cup of tea and tried to ignore the childish display. Archie wasn't mature to begin with, but for some reason he seemed to act even more like an excited little kid when he was with either of the children—especially May. "It alludes me how the two of you find a pancake with a face to be so fascinating."

Archie tossed a gooey batter into one of the pans and then shoved the concoction over to a blindsided Shelly (despite the fact he did this nearly every morning). "Alright, get cooking!"

"Me?!"

"You don't want the pancakes to look like Maxie's camerupt got to them, do you? That's what would happen if I cooked! Besides, cooking is women's work!" He turned back to the breakfast table and missed the way Shelly pulled down her eyelid at his back in retribution.

"You're so charismatic, Archie," Maxie remarked with a snort. "It's no wonder how no woman ever wanted you."

"Nope, just skinny nerds apparently!" Maxie shot him a look that could kill, but May only giggled, especially as Archie heaped their pancakes with practically an entire jug of maple syrup. Maxie made a face of disgust.

"Don't you two realize what you're doing to your cholesterol? How can you eat something positively dripping with calories? You need nutrition!"

"You're right," Archie agreed seriously, nodding his head slowly in contemplation. "It's missing something... More maple syrup!" He cheered as he drenched their breakfast in even more.

"Ugh..."

"You know what these pancakes make me think of?" Archie mused as he stared up at the golden, crisp eyes of the wailmer pancakes sitting in front of him. He took a large bite out of them. "Wailmer watching!" Maxie twitched and froze rigid, but no one noticed. "It's the perfect time for it, the middle of summer!"

Maxie's face became even pastier than usual. He looked like he could pass out. Once that sparkle for adventure came into Archie and May's eyes there was no going back. "May I remind the both of you that the team has plenty of wailmer already that you can _watch! _We certainly don't need to be out on dangerous waters to see them!"

"Yeah, but it isn't the same as seeing the big guys out in the wild! Besides, it's a great day and I'm sure the little scamps could use some adventure!" He ruffled May's hair affectionately. "It'll get us out of the base!"

"You mean we are going out into the...sea?" the smaller man asked meekly. He felt like he had shrunken two sizes into his chair.

"Yeah, nerd boy, the sea! You know, water?" He knocked his head. "_H20 _in nerd speak?" Maxie swatted him away, but any attempt to open his mouth was thwarted by Archie and May's eager babbling about the sights they'd see, so he dejectedly lowered his head in defeat.

* * *

><p>"Ahoy knave! Preparations complete, Captain Matt?" The leader of Team Aqua asked as he hefted a picnic basket full of food into the side of the ship.<p>

"Hahaha!_ Captain!_ What a good one, bro! No one could replace you as the captain! But we're ready to set sail! All we've gotta do now is wait for the little munchkins! What a trip this'll be!"

The bridge dropped to the dock and everyone watched as Maxie dragged his body into the ship, face as white and sweaty as if he was heading to his own execution.

"Geez, nerd boy, you look like someone told you to jump into a volcano!"

"That would be preferable to this..."

"Ah look, it's the scamps!" Archie exclaimed, his face stretching into a wide grin as he watched one, two, three children run up to the dock.

"Archie!" Brendan exclaimed, waving to the entire team. They exuberantly waved back in greeting. "Hey, sorry we're late! We picked up a friend—hope it's okay if he tags along!"

A green haired youngster, looking to be a couple years behind May and Brendan piped up shyly from behind his friends. "If it's okay, I'd like to join you all today. I really want to see wild wailmer and spend some time with my friends! I mean, if it's alright."

"We didn't authorize extra guests," Maxie snipped, but Archie shoved him back and smiled warmly at Wally. "We've wanted to meet you, Wally! Come aboard!"

The boy climbed the wooden steps into the boat and gazed about in awe. Wally hadn't been around the region too much on his own, but thanks to May's adventuring he had a taste of a few new areas. The girl had practically visited every land by now. "This is amazing! I'm so excited to be able to see this all! Thank you for letting me come aboard!" It was then that Wally's eyes drifted up to the joint blue and red flag of the boat and he paled. "Wait, you're Team Magma and Team Aqua?" he squeaked in fear. "You mean the evil people that tried to take over the world?"

Both Archie and Maxie winced. "Ouch..."

"Can't say the scamp doesn't have a point..."

"Wally's never been on a boat before," Brendan said to change the subject as they pulled up the bridge. "He's never been wailmer watching either. I hope we get a chance to see all kinds of pokemon today!"

"Well saddle up and prepare for liftoff!"

"Archie, that's for spaceships..."

"Castaway then! We set sail now!"

Maxie sighed and adjusted his glasses, gazing down at the waves with trepidation. "Very well, Courtney, set the coordinates for just off of Dewford. Meanwhile, I have some nausea medication to take..."

"Aye-aye, Captain Maxie!" Courtney exclaimed cheerfully and drew out the map. "When I was a little girl I used to love to watch wailmers. It's just something that all kids have to do at some point. We did it with my mom and my brothers."

Wally's shoulders fell for the tenth of a second before he pulled them back up again. "My family didn't leave the house too much. They're very protective of me and I haven't been able to do much until now. It's never been fair, but I know they mean well."

May clicked her tongue. "Archie and Maxie have no limits when it comes to adventuring! We do anything and everything!"

"Yes," Maxie agreed with a gripe. "Although I wish we'd take less sea expeditions and more land ones. There's plenty of volcanoes still left to explore." Archie fixed him with a deadpan stare.

"So taking the little scamps to a volcano with lava is perfectly_ A-okay_ but taking them on a boat that's going maybe 20 miles an hour is too dangerous?"

"...Yes."

"Boy I wonder if I can catch a good water pokemon!" Brendan exclaimed excitedly, flipping through his pokedex for the possibilities. "There's gotta be all sorts where we're going!"

"Aye, there is," Archie told him. "But the wailmers are probably going to be splashing around and scaring everything away. I can take you fishing another day!"

"Do you think we can have a chance to ride them?" Wally asked eagerly and the children nodded in agreement.

"Absolutely not!" Maxie finally exploded, glaring each dumbfounded child down. "Do you realize what a dangerous stunt that would be? We'll be in the sea, and you'll be riding a wild animal! Why, their behavior is positively unpredictable! And if you don't have the proper safety equipment you can drown!" No one, as usual, was listening to Maxie. They were staring intently into the distance, where the sun touched the water and made it sparkle.

"I see splashes!" Brendan exclaimed and the children rose from the seats eagerly. Sure enough there were large forms poking in and out of the water, their sounds echoing across the waves. The children nearly broke the railings rattling them in excitement. "Hey, there they are!"

"Officially in Dewford waters!" Matt called from the stern. "And goes without saying, but the wailmers are right dead ahead! Oh I'm just loving this!"

"Oh they're so beautiful!" May squealed.

Maxie scoffed lightly. "We have several back at the base. I'm sure if you wanted you could ride those."

"Hey, we should let our pokemon in on this!" The three children pulled several pokeballs out of their pockets and threw the capsules into the air. Almost everyone else on ship followed suit. Maxie simply arched up against the sail and slipped on psyduck water wings. Archie roared.

"Bwahahaha! Are you serious, Maxie? They sell those for kids!"

"You can never be too careful!"

The boat came to a halt as Shelly dropped the anchor (taking care to make sure none of the wailmers were swimming in range before doing so). "Alright!" she announced, chuckling as she dropped the map and put away her pokedex. "I guess we don't need the pokemon scanner right now."

"This is the best," Wally breathed out and May and Brendan beamed, sharing his excitement. "Oh I never could have pictured I'd be so close to a hoard of wailmers. Look!" He pointed over to where a large mass was rising from the water and crooning. "A wailord!"

May took a running leap and catapulted herself off the side of the railing, falling quickly to the wailord below and landing on its back.

"MAY!" Maxie yelled, his calm demeanour shattered as his glasses nearly fell off his face. "Get back here right now young lady!" As if to make a point of how little his orders meant, the following children jumped off the side as well. "Children!" Maxie exclaimed furiously. "I am giving you all to the count of three-! One, two-"

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" Archie yelled as he leaped off next and Maxie instantly knew he'd be better off yelling at a brick wall. The leader of Team Aqua tumbled across the waillord's back, up to the children and pokemon. "Now this is the kind of ride you don't get to have every day!"

May's swampert and Brendan's grovyle roared happily, walking the large whale's back and hopping from wailmer to wailmer like living stepping stones.

"This is such an amazing experience," Wally gasped, eyes flashing in wonderment as they took in the sights below: ocean ripples on the sea floor and schools of luvdiscs and corsola. "I never thought I'd be able to interact with water pokemon so closely!"

"Oh we do this sort of stuff every day!" Archie exclaimed and grabbed a playful hold of May and Brendan's arms, yanking them into the water with a splash that scared away a school of chinchou. "Hey little scamps, look below," he said, directing their heads down to the ocean floor. Something shiny flashed and illuminated. A pearl.

"Bet you could sell that for big bucks," Brendan chuckled and they watched their pokemon eye the pearl and hastily try to swim towards it. It closed instantly as an angry cleampearl wrestled with them. Archie laughed and shook his head. "Under the water things aren't always as they seem. Remember that scamps! Like, a tentacruel could grip your foot any moment now!" May shrieked as the man grabbed her ankle and swatted his arm.

"You four!" Maxie shouted from the railing of the ship. "What are you doing? You are all going to get carried away by a waillord and you won't ever find your way home!"

"Oh Leader Maxie, have a sense of fun," Courtney giggled quietly, eyeing the water with curiosity and apprehension. Team Magma were so used to land expeditions that water almost seemed alien to them. Maxie despised water and it practically never existed in the old base. It was a wonder how he survived or...bathed. "Why don't you join them?"

"I refuse," Maxie snapped and slowly backed up to put more distance between him and the foreboding sea. "I'm quite fine in the ship-safe, and dry. If Archie wants to risk his life out in the sea where you don't know what's going to pop out and attack you he can be my guest, but we are responsible for those children!"

"Archie wouldn't ever let anything hurt the kids," Shelly said, clicking her tongue at the man. "Have more faith in your partner." She stared as the water suddenly bubbled at the surface and every wailmer splashing freely in the waves immediately disappeared. The ocean became deadly still other than that one rumble. Maxie gripped the edge of the rails in horror and Shelly prepared a pokeball. "Archie!" she yelled. "Get back to the boat, hurry!"

The small group stared in growing horror as the sea continued to bubble up until suddenly, with a large torrent of water and a deafening crash, something emerged to the surface and roared. The four couldn't believe their eyes as they met the piercing yellow orbs of the large beast before them.

"It's Kyogre!" May gasped and Archie seemed to be debating whether or not to try to swim away with the kids or push them behind him. "Holy _Arceus!" _The large sea creature bellowed towards them and suddenly dipped under the water. Before anyone could move a muscle they were suddenly hoisted up into the air with a splash. The force of the motion sent everyone tumbling onto their backsides, but all fear was diminished when the legendary god gave something that almost sounded like a chortle.

"I think it's playing with us!" Brendan exclaimed and smiled at May. "It's trying to thank you, May! It's trying to thank you for saving it before!" The monster gave a cry of confirmation and May smiled, patting the wet and slick head of the beast.

"Arceus, is this really happening?" Maxie was just staring, his widening eyes causing his glasses to slip to his nose. "What a...remarkable sight." He shook his head in disbelief and recoiled rapidly as the fish elevated itself so it was at level with the boat.

"Hey Nerd Boy, you've gotta come! This here is a chance of a life time!"

The scientific man practically clung to a beam like a cat. "There isn't a chance of that, you oaf!" Kyogre dove over the boat and Archie swiped up the spindly man before he had a chance to even react. Maxie shrieked and nearly climbed onto the man's head like a terrified cat. "No! Bring me back to the boat!" He shivered but slightly relaxed when Maxie's arms wrapped around him.

"Hey Maxie, open your eyes! You don't want to miss this!" Barely, Maxie did so. What greeted his sight was the orange orb in the sky setting beyond the ocean waves. Even he slowly found his eyes opening wide in wonderment and slowly crawled to the top of Kyogre's head. "...Extraordinary." He shook his head. "Truly beautiful..." Everyone smiled at each other and Kyogre crooned. The rest of Team Aqua and Magma took this time to leap onto the great beast's back.

"So what do you think?" Archie smirked. "Do you enjoy this?" He squeezed him close to his side. Maxie pushed his glasses up against his nose and crossed his arms, eyes softening to the sunset. "...Maybe," he finally said. "Once in a while, I suppose."


	3. Honorary Dads! Part 1

_(A/N: Hey everyone! I was able to get this chapter done relatively fast since it's quick. It hit pretty close to home for me with my relationship with my Dad...;c The next chapter is going to be longer and focuses around Team Dad and May. c; The one after that has more focus on Brendan than May. I had a lot of fun with this chapter, and to the reviewer who wanted to see over protective Archie, I hope you're satisfied!)_

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><p>"Annual Father Daughter Picnic huh?" Archie asked as he skimmed through the crumpled pamphlet May had pulled out of her backpack. "<em>The perfect day for father and daughters, filled with fun activities and contests!<em> Sounds like a blast!"

"I know!" May gushed. Both Archie and May were reclining on the couch and Maxie had his nose buried in a newspaper, drowning out the conversation. "We've gone every year since I was three, and I'm sure this will be no different! We've always had a blast. It's always the one day that Dad sets his gym aside and dedicates the entire day to spending time with me!"

"That's great, Scamp." Archie was smiling, but it was visibly strained. The girl was too excited to notice.

"I mean...ever since my Dad started getting really serious at the gym we haven't had a chance to really...do anything together! He always bails on me." Her morose expression brightened immediately. "But this is his chance to make up for it! I'm sure we'll have a really great time!" She paused and stood back to frown at her regular and casual clothes. "I just wish I had something prettier to wear."

Maxie, who had otherwise remained uninterested in the conversation until now slammed down his newspaper, his eyes lighting up with interest. "Well that settles that then. We must find you something more formal to wear when you see your father. Wearing something like that is simply...unacceptable."

Archie snorted. "Why do you care?"

"Because I have an adequate taste in fashion and she wants to look nice when she greets her father. Finding her good dress will be easy to do. I'll even pay for it myself."

"Would you really Maxie?"

"Of course, it'll be my pleasure." He pushed his glasses up on his nose. "We'll go to the boutique tomorrow."

* * *

><p>"Let this be known on my gravestone: The noble leader of Team Aqua dies an excruciating death by...fashion."<p>

"Don't be so over dramatic, Archie... Come out now, child," Maxie called into the dressing room as timid blue eyes poked out from behind a curtain. He nodded encouragingly at her.

"This is so embarrassing," May whispered from between her fingers as she spun around for both men in a short and elegant green dress. Archie clapped for the girl but Maxie made a face.

"No, no, no..." Maxie tsked in disapproval as May played with the fabric. "This won't do at all."

"What are you talking about?" Archie griped. "She's gone through like a hundred dresses already! Just pick one, this is tedious!"

"Yes but look at that bow around the middle. It's too much and makes the dress look too bulky. We want something simple and yet elegant for this event."

"Maxie, we're going to be diving in the water and doing tug of wars and stuff," May reminded him, but he ignored her.

"Try the blue one I chose for you," he ordered and waved his hand dismissively towards the dressing room. May emerged a few moments later in a simple, yet frilly dress with a white trim and puffed sleeves. It came with a ribbon choker, which Maxie fastened around the child's small neck. She daintily gripped the edges of the fabric and bowed adorably to Archie.

"Aww Scamp!" Archie crooned. "You look adorable!" Even Maxie finally gave an approving nod. "Indeed," he agreed and smiled lightly.

"You think so?" the child asked, examining the fabric subconsciously. "Do you think my Dad will like it?"

"He'd be insane not to," Archie chuckled as she smoothed out the frills. "Bell of the ball, I'd say! Aye, Maxie?"

"It's an adequate dress," Maxie agreed with him and looked at the apprehensive girl, a smile tilting his lips as he said what she wanted to hear. "It is quite...cute, on you. I'm sure your father will love it." He surveyed the child with scrutiny and fixed her collar and wrinkles until he was satisfied. "You need to make sure your hair is perfect too. A bun perhaps, or maybe even curls."

May beamed as she patted at her brown locks. "With a blue bow even! Oh I can't wait for this! Thanks Maxie! You're the best!"

The man blinked a little and nodded, smiling slightly. "You're welcome, child."

"Great," Archie sighed in relief as he hefted up another shopping bag full of shoes and accessories Maxie bought previously. "Can we go get some lunch now?"

* * *

><p>Evening fell in Hoenn, but the cave of Aqua and Magma's base stayed as dim as it always had, unaffected by the darkness. Although the team was exhausted by a mission half of them went off to at Kanto that day, the base remained energized by May. May, who danced blissfully through out every room of the base and around both Magma and Aqua's leaders.<p>

"My, you're certainly energized," Maxie commented, blinking as the girl slid her ribbon around his neck like a scarf "I suppose it's to be expected. Excited?"

"Like you wouldn't believe!" Both Archie and Maxie watched as the child skipped through the room, doing little twirls and giggling like a little fairy.

"That's understandable," Maxie agreed and found himself both endeared and worried about how energized the child was. It was very unlikely she'd be settled down by her bedtime. Maxie tried to have the girl go to bed at a strict nine o'clock regiment but Archie and the girl seemed to teeter that to nearly eleven most nights.

"We're going to have the best time ever tomorrow!" May squealed. "And I'm finally old enough to participate in the diving contest! I bet I'll out-dive my Dad easily! I've got so much practice just over the last year!"

"Yeah, and Hoenn is nearly completely water," Archie snorted. He smiled at the excited girl, finding it hard to not find her happiness infectious. "Better get a good night's sleep then little scamp!"

Maxie nodded to the girl. "To bed within the next hour child. You want to be energized for the picnic. Why don't you go get your dress and everything ready for the morning?"

The door closed and from even behind her door Archie and Maxie could hear May's blissful singing. Maxie gave a small amused smile, but Archie suddenly looked even more tense.

"I've never seen the child so happy before," Maxie commented.

"Yeah but...will it last?"

Magma's leader blinked. "I assume it'll last through-out the picnic and then she'll be bursting to tell us all about the day's activities when she comes home."

"That isn't what I meant," Archie sighed and scratched the back of his head nervously. "What if her father-"

"Mail for the team!" An out of breath Matt and Tabitha suddenly came running down the halls. "We've got...bills for the electricity for Maxie." Maxie made a face, but took the letter. "And the newest copy of the Sea Caper magazine subscription for Archie!" He yelped as the magazine was practically torn out of his hands.

"Anything for you?" Maxie asked as he scanned through the bills.

"Maybe, somewhere in here..." The man poked at the large pile of mail, which spilled onto the table. He at last pulled out a case consisting of a small CD. "The newest copy of the Bro CD: Volume 3!"

"Bro CD?" Tabitha snorted and Matt scowled at him.

"Hey, I don't make fun of the subscriptions you get! Like, that there-is that a contest magazine?" Tabitha flushed and tucked the thing behind his back. "Of course not! It's this week's Battle Mansion's results!"

"Haha, sure Bro!" Matt laughed. Tabitha swatted him at the back of the head and Matt smacked him back. The cat fight went on for a while until Maxie rolled his eyes and waved his hand to dismiss them.

A single letter that fluttered from the pile caught Maxie and Archie's attention. They eyed it like a poisonous snake and exchanged looks. It was a letter addressed to May...from her father. Archie looked sick.

"You don't think..."

"Don't jump to conclusions, Archie. Perhaps the man is simply confirming their outing?" He picked up the letter and scanned over the handwriting. For some reason it seemed...ominous, and almost detached. 'May' seemed to be hastily scribbled across the envelope with little care. There weren't even any illustrations of hearts or pokemon like Archie would often do with her.

"I want to burn it..."

"You cannot _burn_ someone else's mail, you fool!"

"I don't want her to see it!" He snatched the envelope away and looked like he wanted to tear it open with every fiber of his being. "Why would he send her a letter a day before their big outing?"

"For clarification maybe?"

"How could he possibly think she'd even forget it?"

Maxie chewed at his lip nervously and set the letter down. He adjusted his glasses and winced. "I don't know, but we have no right to read this letter. It's the child's and she reserves the right to read it."

"Fine, but if that jerk makes her cry again teeth are gonna fly..." Maxie didn't say anything, but for once he didn't look as if he disapproved the idea. They were well aware of how May's father was and Archie especially detested the man. It took a lot for Archie to hate anyone.

"Archie, Maxie!" The two men froze and Archie grappled with the letter to hide it. Maxie snatched it right back. The girl, oblivious to their panic, bounded up to them. "How do you think I should wear my hair tomorrow? Down as usual? Maybe up in a bun? A ponytail? A..." It was only then she realized how worried they both looked. "...Something wrong?"

The men exchanged looks and after a moment of contemplating, Maxie handed the child the envelope. "This came for you, child."

May blinked as she gazed at the writing. "Oh, it's from my Dad!" She grinned and tore it open. As they expected and feared, Archie and Maxie watched the joy increasingly drain from the girl's face. By the time her tear filled eyes had read the last line, they were both certain they could hear her heart breaking.

"Scamp..." Archie began very gently. Maxie didn't say anything, but his face reflected his concern.

May's throat closed up before she could say anything, and all that was intelligible was a thin little warble. The letter fluttered down from her trembling fingers and Archie reached out to the girl. With a sob, the child turned and fled from the room, slamming her door. Silence echoed for a long stretch, the air reeking with tension and regret.

"...You were right," Maxie finally murmured. "I should have let you burn it."

"I don't even want to know," Archie sighed and scooped up the discarded letter. "But I may as well..."

_Dear May,_

_I hope you've been doing well, your mother worries about you every day. I know the annual picnic we go to every year is tomorrow but I'm afraid I'm going to have to do a rain check on it. They need me back to the gym first thing tomorrow for an important evaluation. I hope you understand, and I promise you that I'll find a way to make it up to you. I'll talk to you soon!_

_Dad_

"Despicable," Maxie said, his usual emotionless tone replaced with anger and his eyes flashing. "To just cancel on her like this..."

"Low life bastard," Archie seethed. "I oughta..."

"The girl was looking forward to this too." Maxie shook his head in disappointment. "She must be so upset." Archie looked like he was debating whether or not to leave the couch and comfort the child or let her be. "I guess I may as well return that dress. She won't be needing it now..."

Archie was looking over the pamphlet to the picnic and Maxie could easily see the gears turning. "What are you thinking of?"

"Ya know...this picnic doesn't really have any restrictions," the man mused as he dropped it on the table and grinned.

"It's for fathers and daughters."

"Doesn't say it has to be a blood relative, does it? I doubt they'll be checking ID cards and birth certificates. Doesn't say anything about two dads going with their kid!"

Maxie did a double take. "Are you saying..."

"Honorary Dads for the day! How about it?" Archie grinned. "We're adopting a kid tomorrow! Why not? With her Dad being such a neglectful jerk we're the closest thing the kid's got to one! She was so excited for this picnic, we can't just let that be for nothing!"

"Indeed," Maxie agreed. "I didn't spend nearly three hundred dollars on that dress for it to go to waste either. The child has done quite a lot for us, we at least owe her this."

Archie grinned at the man. "So honorary Dads for the day?" He held out his hand to the smaller man. Maxie stared at it for a moment before hesitantly gripping it.

"...Honorary Dads for the day," he agreed.


	4. Honorary Dads! Part 2

_A/N: Whew! Needed a break from final projects, so I hope you enjoy the very fluffy and rather hilarious misadventures of the Father/Daughter picnic~__ I know that the past two chapters has been just Team Dad and May but later chapters will have more Brendan. In fact one is almost entirely centered him and another centers May and Shelly and Courtney._

_Next chapter: Maxie is left to look after May, but when a hurtful mistake causes her to run off can he save her before it's too late? Or is there no going back from the words you say?_

* * *

><p>"Little scamp?" Archie knocked gently on the door when morning rose. At this time May would normally be up already, feeding the wailmers or exploring around the region if not skipping around the breakfast table. The room remained dead silent. He didn't even hear the child tell him to go away.<p>

"Little scamp?" Archie lightly flicked on the lights. His heart broke when he saw the normally bubbly child balled up and turned to the wall. Her pikachu laid on her chest and her Swellow had its wing curled around her comfortingly. The girl didn't even act like she acknowledged their presence.

Archie made a move towards the bed but her Swampert straightened itself in front of him with a scowl. "Swampert!"

He huffed. "Move aside, Tadpole."

"Swampert!"

"I know the kid wants to be alone...but just...trust me on this." He pushed aside the large creature and gently shook May's shoulder. "Hey little scamp..." She didn't even lift her head. "Little scamp..." Archie tried again.

Finally, the child uncurled slightly from the wall. Archie's heart broke from the sight of her. Her eyes were puffy and red from her most recent cry and her clothing was wrinkled and unkempt. Her pillow looked like it had been drenched by a raincloud. She had the most lost and abandoned look in her eyes, and Archie solemnly swore to himself he'd make sure this child never felt unloved again.

"I know you don't feel like being around anyone right now," he began awkwardly. "But I think some time out of the base will do you some good!" The girl turned away but he was undeterred. "Actually Shelly's done some scouting and it looks like there's a lot of deep sea treasure! It's just off of where Kyogre is too!" He still didn't get a response. "We can get some ice cream, go out to eat—do anything you want."

"Go away," May murmured. Archie's shoulders fell a little but he firmly yanked the covers off the girl's form. She blinked in anger and shock at this rough display.

"I'm not gonna let you sit here and brood all day!" the man told her and tossed her casual wear onto the bed, keeping the covers away from her snatching fingers.

"Why won't you just leave me alone?" May gave the man the most hateful glare she could muster but Archie had to hold back a smile. She had no idea what was really going on.

"I expect you up and dressed in an hour, tops, little scamp!" He called to the angry girl as he shut her door off. "If you aren't I'm dragging you out of the bed!" He didn't miss the lethal looking stare she shot at him and the moment she turned his head he grabbed and tucked away her new dress. She was going to need it later.

* * *

><p>"Perfect day for an <em>ocean expedition, <em>huh Nerd Boy?" Archie asked his mate, elbowing the man in the side. Maxie swatted him away and rolled his eyes. Archie was so _subtle ,_it was a wonder how May hadn't figured out what was going on yet. For the most part she had avoided talking to either of them and ignored almost everything said to her. Right now instead of leaning over the railing in anticipation, she was balled up quietly at the very back of the boat, scowling at the ground.

"Such a cheerful face," Maxie laughed lightly, gazing over at the brooding child.

"It'll be bright and smiling and adorable as usual in a moment," Archie told him, checking the map to make sure they were going in the right direction. "Hey May, come here for a second?" The child trudged over and shot daggers out of her eyes all the while. Archie pulled off his bandana suddenly and wrapped it around her eyes.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

"Uhhh..." He pressed his hand against the fabric as she tried to rip it off, steering as he did so. A large blue banner waved in the wind approaching the horizon. "The sunlight is really strong here! We don't want you to hurt your eyes."

"Then why didn't you bring _sunglasses?" _May snapped and ripped off the cloth. It fell from her fingers in shock as her eyes went as wide as dinner plates. Archie's grin nearly split his face, and even Maxie was smirking playfully at her. "Wha..."

"Surprise Little scamp!"

"Yes...surprise, child."

May just stared, taking in the sight she was certain she wouldn't see this year. The happy laughter of children and adults echoed from the beach. Multicolored blankets were already laid in the sand and grass. Pokemon and children alike were at play. It was just like when she was young...

The child threw her hand to her mouth and spun to both adults. They smiled warmly down at her and their soft expression melted behind her wall of tears. She opened her mouth to speak, but all that squeaked out was an overwhelmed sob. Archie just grinned at her and gently patted her hair.

"You're gonna need this!" he told her and pulled out the green dress. "Well, actually, you don't need it, but Maxie will kill me if I don't make you wear it. You can change when we get to the docks!"

Grinning, May wiped the tears from her eyes and clutched the dress like it was a sacred treasure. "Okay!"

They approached a small booth where a man was handing out tickets for the father and daughters that passed through. He raised an eyebrow, staring up waywardly at a large, burly pirate and the smaller, red headed man in a trench coat and glasses. "Can I help you?"

"Tickets for the Father-Daughter picnic!" Archie told him, shoving a wadful of bills at the ticket man.

"You're _both _the fathers?" he asked dubiously, and yelped as Archie grabbed his collar and jerked him towards him. "Yeah we're both the fathers! So what?!"

"Okay, okay!" the ticket man squeaked, fumbling with the larger, solid fist around the fabric. "You're both the fathers, that's fine! You can go right in!" He shoved the three tickets towards them and Archie pushed him away.

"Archie you cannot just threaten everyone at this thing to get what you want," Maxie scolded the man and Archie just shrugged. "Don't see why not!"

"Hey look at these tickets," Archie grinned as he stared down at the papers. They had the word "Dad" scribbled on them with a little heart. May's said "daughter." "What a cute idea!"

"Clever," Maxie said dryly. "Where to first?"

May's head was positively reeling with possibilities and you could see it in her eyes. She wasn't even sure where to turn, there was just so much to do. "I don't know, I'm so excited! There's the picnic, and the scavenger hunt, and-!"

"What about that table over there that just got set up?" Archie asked, pointing over to a small table with an assortment of different craft materials: macaroni, glitter, and paper plates. "Boy that looks like fun doesn't it Maxie?" Archie smirked and shoved the man towards the table.

"What?!"

"You go first, Dad number 1!"

"Absolutely not!" Maxie spluttered at the man, but he was already being dragged against his will. "I refuse to subject myself to such a demeaning activity!" He struggled, but it was to no avail and the child tugged him eagerly over to the table.

"For Arceus' sake...this is simply humiliating," Maxie growled under his breath, but every time he felt like ditching the game or insulting it he saw May's happy face and quickly changed his mind.

"Are the fathers and daughters ready?" the judge asked and every child at the table took a macaroni bottle into their hands in anticipation. Inwardly smashing a rock against his face, Maxie rose a degrading bottle of glitter.

"Go!"

"What are we supposed to be doing here?" he hissed at the girl as the rest of the children and parents dove into the projects.

"We make macaroni art of..." The child pointed over to a posing bulbasaur on the table. "That Bulbasaur! The team that makes it the most accurate wins!"

"Bulbasaur!" the creature chirped, wagging its tail happily.

"Oh that's all?" Maxie pushed up his glasses and sneered at the other children and fathers. "Then this will be a simple task. First, we have to roughly sketch out the pokemon, and of course the areas where we're going to place the macaroni and their positions..."

"Maxie, we have less than three minutes."

"What?!" he spluttered, and sure enough found the other teams farther along then they were. "Alright fine, just take the... " He grabbed the glue and smeared it in a pattern to get the outline of the pokemon's shape. May started to decorate the outline with pieces of macaroni. In just a minute their piece was already really starting to come together. Maxie smiled at the girl. "Fabulous, child. Perhaps we'll win this thing after all!"

A competitive father and son beside them looked down at their work and then at May and Maxie's. Both the girl and man were too absorbed in the project to notice, but at his father's signal the boy harshly elbowed May's arm, causing the glue to leak out onto the paper.

"Oh!" May cried in dismay. Maxie's head shot up like a viper, his eyes as sharp as could be and flaming as much as his team name.

"Why you impertinent child!" the man seethed at the smug boy, a rather juvenile anger taking hold of him as he looked down at the little girl's sad face, and he reacted in the way he seldom did: with vengeance. Maxie's boot lifted and slammed the bottom of the table as subtly as he could, causing a bunch of jars to tumble across the table. Five different projects were ruined but Maxie just gave a smug, smug smile to the crying boy beside them, who not only had glitter and glue all over his art, but all over him.

A shrill whistle blew and the judge pointed an accusing finger at the two of them. "Disqualified!" he growled and May quickly rose from the table with Maxie as they were ushered away. She blinked, blindsided, and then scowled at the man. "_Maxie!"_

"The insufferable and meddling thing ruined our project!"

The girl sighed and threw up her hands as Archie came over.

"Wow Maxie," Archie laughed, patting his partner on the back. "Great job! I bet that team will think again before they cross you, eh lad?" Maxie just glared back. "That was my chance, now it's your turn to participate in an event Archie."

"Alright!" He clapped the girl on the back and she looked up at him apprehensively. "What's the next event then?"

May tried looking around for an activity that couldn't be sabotaged and pointed over to a series of tug of war rope and a bunch of kids and adults that were starting to line up for it. There was a large pile of sand between both parents and children as opposed to a mound of mud. At least Maxie wouldn't get too angry at her for her dress. Maybe the event holders that of the clothes too when they chose it.

Man and child positioned themselves at either sides of the rope, feet planted firmly in the dirt as a safety precaution.

"Get ready to be taken down little sprout!" Archie hissed playfully at May, poised with the rope and eager as could be. "Gonna show you the wrath of Archie!"

"I already met that wrath in the form of your sharpedo and crobat—and ugly bandana!"

"Why you cheeky brat!"

"Go!" the announcer shouted. The war began. It was a valiant effort from both parents and children as the ropes were yanked back on either side and surprisingly many teams turned out to be equally strong. Many teams still had little ones that tumbled into the sand giggling the moment the rope was tugged.

"Get ready, scamp—you're gonna be eating my sand in a minute!"

"That line is cheesier than the macaroni we had last Tuesday!" the child teased back. The smile morphed into a concentrating grimace as the force of the rope became even stronger on the other side. May and Archie were the only ones still attempting to speak. May gasped when she felt her feet skid into the dirt. "No!"

Archie's expression couldn't be anymore smug if he tried. "Told you kid—you're better off challenging Maxie at this! Then maybe you'd actually win!"

May's smoldering blue eyes darted about desperately for an ounce of last minute redemption ,and she smirked when she saw it: a rock imbedded in the sand in front of Archie. "And your pride is your downfall, sea man!"

"What? OOMPH!" With a violent tug, the man's toe grazed against the rock and he lost his balance, tumbling into the sand before him. May pumped her fist up laughing as a dryly clapping Maxie walked over.

The child tutted playfully at the man. "Well look at that! I guess the great Archie has lost his kick! Beaten by a little girl!" she giggled. Archie's expression of shock remained before his eyes narrowed into beady little slits of wrath.

"Why you little runt!" he grunted playfully and hefted at the rope. May yelped as she stumbled and sprawled onto the man, who caught her and head locked her. "No one gets to make a fool out of me!"

Maxie strode over to the struggling and laughing duo on the ground, livid when he realized the state of May's dress. "May that was three hundred dollars!"

"I told you we'd be going to an outdoor event!" May managed through her laughter, wriggling her mouth up past Archie's arm so she could breathe. "And I won this one!"

"Just you wait, I'll get you back someday!"

Maxie tipped his glasses towards them both with a slightly distasteful look on his face. "Well at the risk of you both getting even more muddy, what is the next event?" He looked at his watch, but the clock only read an hour before lunch. This thing wasn't over until four.

May wiped the mud off her face with the back of her hand. "The trivia event," she told them and instantly Maxie's eyes flashed with interest for the first time since coming here. He shoved his glasses up to his nose. "A trivia event you say?"

"Yeah," May told him, brushing the dirt off her dress. She was relieved that the mention of the trivia took his mind off chastising her for the dress. "Pokemon trivia!" She didn't even have time to finish her sentence as the man abruptly grabbed her arm and tugged her along, almost cheerfully.

"Well we don't want to be late!"

May was stunned by the slimmer man's sudden burst of enthusiasm and yelped as her feet tripped in the dirt. "Maxie! You don't even know what the game is about!" Since when did the science man get excited about...remotely anything?

"It's a trivia event, that's all I need to know." His glasses glinted in the sunlight, somehow giving him even more of a know-it-all appearance. "A trivia event that's likely at the comprehension level of a fifth grader. How could we not win this?"

"Yeah but..."

They swung the doors open to the the center and a theatre inside. Different desks had been set up on the stage, with a large screen hanging above them and children and parents already lined up at each podium with buzzers on every podium. May hopped to a stand right up next to the red headed man as a title flashed across the screen. _Poke-Trivia!_

"Hey Maxie!" May whispered, nudging the man in the side. "Look, it's that bratty kid and his Dad from earlier!" Maxie lowered his glasses and pierced the opposing team with a deadly glower. They glared right back. "Easy..." May murmured, feeling like she was trying to calm a provoked dog.

The host of the game was busy passing out points cards to each team after conversing with them a little. He reached May and Maxie. "Are you the father?" the man asked Maxie.

Maxie paused and stared at the host, and then at May. He opened his mouth to rebuke the question, but he slowly shut it. "I..." He pushed up his glasses. "Yes I suppose I am." May looked softly up at the man and Maxie flushed as he tried to avert his eyes.

"Is everyone ready?" the announcer asked and flipped open the first que card. May hopped up and down in her spot until Maxie chastised her to behave more like a lady. "Alright, question number one! What type of pokemon is a Charmander?"

"Are you serious?" Maxie laughed, looking from May to the announcer. "That kind of question is more adequate for a first grader! What kind of pokemon is a Charmander! Why, a toddler could answer that!"

The other team buzzed in. "A fire type!" The crowd clapped and Maxie blinked in shock.

"Maxie!" May hissed.

"Point goes to Chad and his father Gregory!" The smug little brat made a face at them and May balled up her fists.

"Question number two!" the announcer exclaimed and flipped through another card. "Flygon has a mega evolution, true or false!"

"The concept of mega evolution is taught to someone as young as five, surely there's questions that are more to an advanced lev-"

"It doesn't matter how smart you are, just press the stupid button!" May growled and shoved at Maxie. His hand came down on the button mile-seconds after the little brat's did and the announcer tuned to the other team.

"The answer is false!" the boy answered, straightening himself proudly and giving more of a condescending sneer then a proud smile. Maxie's blood bubbled as hot as the volcanoes he studied, but it was his next words that set the man off. "Looks like you guys are as stupid as you are _clumsy_!" he snickered.

"Why you arrogant little brat," the scientist seethed. "How dare you imply such a lie!" Vengeful, beady little slits targeted the power bar and May immediately knew what was going to happen next.

"No Maxie-!"

Almost casually and innocently, the man's boot swept one of the cords—the one leading directly to the buzzer of the other team. May just covered her eyes, immediately realizing it was over. She didn't dare even peek through the cracks of her fingers and tried to slink down past the podium as much as physically possible.

"Question number ten!" The event went on with both the announcer and other team oblivious to what had happened. May was just trying to hide at this point. What type of pokemon is ground pokemon immune to?"

Maxie cheerfully pressed his button as the other team pressed their button to no avail. Stunned, the kid kept pushing and nothing happened. "Hey! Hey!" he snarled. "They unplugged our buzzer!" He pointed an accusing finger over to a scowling Maxie (and a still shamefully hiding May.)

"Hey!" the announcer growled and from behind the podium May's hand shot up in surrender. "We know, we know," she said glumly and started tugging Maxie away from the podium.

"We would have won if it hadn't been for that meddling child!" Maxie growled. May stared at him incredulously and rolled her eyes.

"We didn't _win_ because you were too busy bragging about how easy the questions were to answer them!" the child accused and Maxie's face flushed a red the shade of his coat. "Once again, your own ego was your downfall!"

"You watch your mouth, young lady!"

Archie reached them before this bickering could escalate into something worse and he patted the young one's shoulder gently. "Hey, you did good! I mean...you didn't answer any of the questions, but I'm sure you would have won if you had!" Both May and Maxie shot daggers at each other.

"What event is next?" Maxie finally asked with a sigh, knowing to stay angry was pointless. Obviously he'd never admit it, but he accepted their loss was his fault.

"Lunch thankfully," May sighed. "At least there the two of you can't...hurt people or yourselves."

"Hey!" Archie looked deeply offended. "I haven't hurt anyone yet or screwed up any events! Nerd boy is the one that's ruining the day!"

"Excuse me?" Maxie snapped, balling his fists at Archie. "I've done no such thing!"

"You already ruined two events!"

"Maybe so, but it was the fault of that impertinent little child, not myself!"

"Guys," May sighed. "How about we go eat lunch and worry about what you two will potentially do to the rest of this day _after?"_

* * *

><p>"Maril! Maril Maril!" May winced through out the pokemon's furious growls, her head bowed shamefully as she was lectured by a <em>water mouse.<em> It beat being yelled at by the lifeguard at least. Both her and Archie's ears were still aching from the tongue lashing they received_ there._

The event had started innocently enough. It was always May's favorite to watch with her father (as she had been too young to participate in it until this year). So this year the child was just all the more excited about finally being able to participate. The objective was simple enough: surf through the water on a mantyke, touch the log that indicated it was the daughter's turn to do the diving portion of the race, and whoever scored enough rings won.

May should have known better, she figured. She surfed with Archie nearly every day after all and she knew how competitive the man could be. Despite how protective he was with her, she had more than one bruise from all the times he'd shove her off of Swampert just to win the race. So really, it shouldn't have been a huge surprise when he started _to toss children out of the water._

And now they stood by when the race had been halted to tend to the children that nearly drowned because of Archie. Luckily, none of them had and most of the fathers were just trying to comfort their startled children.

"Maril! Maril!" one little girl's pokemon barked up at both the pirate and the little girl.

"Yeah, I know," May sighed at the pokemon. "Sorry..." They may have well retired their tickets the moment Maxie hit the table. "Are you okay kid?" May asked one of the children—the first one that had been thrown.

"That was so cool!" the little boy exclaimed to May and Archie's surprise. "It felt like I was flying!" A smile tilted at May's lips in relief. At least they had managed to make someone happy. "Well uh...glad you enjoyed it?" Even if it didn't look like the parents felt that way.

"Excellent job, you big brute!" Maxie praised sarcastically as he eyed them both wryly. "You've certainly made your point of who is the most irresponsible adult here today. Why, I'm sure the children you just tossed agree!You're lucky we haven't been tossed out of this thing yet!"

"Right, because your responsibility screams when you slammed a freaking table earlier!" The two men were practically nose to nose like two territorial pokemon, but through their juvenile rage they saw the sad little girl in a green dress. So they shut up.

"What's the next event?" Archie asked May quietly, rubbing her shoulder. May gave a wincing smile.

"There's none left," she laughed awkwardly. "We're...done. The events are pretty much over."

Archie and Maxie exchanged cringes. "Well is there anything else we can do?" They knew they had both pretty much destroyed the day for her. They had to make it up _somehow _with some sort of last second redemption.

May cast a look over to a flowered arch. The arch was covered with tropical flowers and there was a plastic palm tree in the backdrop. There was an assortment of different costumes: skirts, dresses, funny hats and glasses. "There's still the family photos to do!"

"Family photos?"

"_No," _Maxie deadpanned and already started to walk away. Archie harshly gripped his arm.

"We've ruined this entire day for her Nerd Boy," Archie whispered fiercely, gripping the smaller man's collar tightly and jerking him up to him. "And we're gonna do this for her, no matter how humiliating it is. And I'll pummel you if you don't!"

Maxie looked entirely unaffected but he sighed. "Well I suppose that's enough motivation for me to do this," he said dryly and begrudgingly trudged after the pirate and child. Archie chucked a large pair of fake glasses at him like a frisbee.

"Hey Little Scamp!" Archie slipped on a hula skirt and jutted out his butt. "Does this make my butt look big?" May laughed loudly and slipped on a feathered hat and an oversized pearl necklace.

"This is insulting," Maxie muttered as he folded up his real glasses and slipped on the fake ones with a mustache. Humiliated as he was, the soft girlish giggle that received made it _almost_ worth it.

"Hey look at this!" May giggled and slipped a Pikachu hat onto Maxie's head. Archie guffawed. "It's a pikachu hat!" Maxie's arms crossed and his expression turned even more stormy.

"Ah look at this, Nerd Boy!" Archie grinned and pulled a torchic hat onto his head. "This seems more your style! Too bad there's no sharpedo hats for me..." He pulled up a magikarp hat and stared at it. "...Good enough!"

"Are we almost ready?" the photographer asked and May hastily slipped on a dragonair hat before tugging both team leaders under the arch. She threw her arms around both men. Archie wrapped his arm around her while Maxie tensed instantly.

"Loosen up nerd boy!"

"How can I? I'm wearing a pokemon hat, this is humiliating!" Maxie winced through every photo but forced himself to smile for the last photos, so not to put a damper on the girl's spirits.

"Sorry about today, Little Scamp," Archie muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

May eyed both men quizzically. "Sorry? I've had a blast today!"

The sheepish expressions faded to shock as both Maxie and Archie exchanged looks. They looked back at the girl, wondering if she was dizzy from being under the water too long from the relay race. "A blast? It was a complete disaster!"

"Oh it was," May laughed. "But...it was still a blast!" She smiled at their confusion. "You two did for me what I never thought you could. I thought I wouldn't even be able to attend this year, and what you both did... Last year we were all enemies, and today we spent the day together at a picnic! You two have been the best...step ins for my father than anyone could ever be. I loved having you both as Dads for the day...and I'll never forget this."

Anticipating and bracing for one of May's destructive hugs, Maxie was stunned to feel a soft pair of lips kiss his cheek. It was as gentle as the wing beat of a butterfly. She then did the very same to Archie. Archie teared up and threw his arms around the child. "Aw you're welcome, Scamp!" Maxie said nothing, but he turned away and touched his cheek.

"Cute picture," the photographer chuckled and the camera snapped before anyone could blink. A photo slid out of the printer with all three in their pokemon hats, looking like a little family they were meant to be.


	5. Under The Layers Of The Red Sweater

_A/N: Hey everyone! Wow I am so so pleased with the reception this fic has received both here and on tumblr! I'm glad you're all enjoying it and I've figured out how long this fic will be. There's roughly seven chapters left to it.__ This one was a long chapter, wow. But those of you that have been wanting to see more of Maxie and May's relationship, I think will be quite pleased with this~  
><em>

_Next chapter: Team Aqua and Magma decide to go on a camping trip, but how can Archie shape Brendan into a class-A fisherman, and how will the children escape from the ghosts in the woods?_

* * *

><p>"Sure you don't wanna come along, Maxie?" Archie asked as he hefted a suitcase into their boat. The ship rocked gently among the waves from the force and notably, Maxie hopped back as if it was acid.<p>

"I'm certain. You're going to be on the ocean for three days, Archie. Do you really need to ask if I'd be comfortable joining you?" The very notion of three days packed with nothing but vomiting and salty sea waves made Maxie want to hide in the nearest volcano.

"Aren't you going to miss me?" Archie asked, with his most saucy smile. Maxie scoffed and tried to turn away as if the very idea was ludicrous, but Archie grabbed him around the waist and tugged him into him. After half hearted, rather playful struggles Maxie allowed himself to be cuddled, and even kissed.

"Miss you? It will be a relief to not have to smell the seaweed in your hair for three days!" He sucked in a breath to fight back a laugh as Archie dug his fingers playfully into his sides. "You know I hate that."

"Aye, I do, it's why I do it." Archie pulled back after another kiss, getting ready to lift the anchor. He gazed up when he saw May coming towards the dock, a sad expression on her face. Archie's face fell a little and he bent over the side of the boat to meet her.

"Why can't I come?" May asked, her wide blue eyes shining with sadness. "I'm always allowed to go on your sea expeditions." Her throat felt tight, but she forced it back. For some reason she didn't understand, she felt awful about him leaving and dreaded being alone with Maxie.

"You usually are scamp, but this one is a little more dangerous," he told her. "We're going to a different region and there's frequent storms. Storms that a little one like you aren't equipped for. We're targeting a Thundurus that's been causing a ruckus around the regions. He's causing hurricanes even, and all sorts of frightening things too dangerous for a kid."

"Yeah, a kid that took down a legendary herself!" May blurted angrily. Sometimes both men got so caught up in their protective parent appearances that they forgot what she was capable of. All the girl received was a loving hair ruffle.

"Besides, I'm sure you and Maxie will have fun!"

"Oh _yeah," _May mumbled under her breath. "I'm really sure of that." Maxie's idea of fun was cleaning the hideout, studying rocks and reading the newspaper. She watched dejectedly as the ship slowly pulled away from the docks, and part of her wondered why she didn't just hide somewhere in the ship as a stowaway.

Maxie watched the ship fade in the distance and turned his gaze to May- May who was gazing down at the sparkling waters miserably. Maxie couldn't help but feel insulted that the girl seemed to abhor his company so much. "Well May, have you cleaned your room like I asked?"

The girl winced. "Er no—I was hoping to go off for a few days, until Archie gets back. I don't know, visit my mom or something, or even see how Steven is doing."

Maxie narrowed his eyes. "You aren't going anywhere young lady, until you clean up that room! It's atrocious! And you didn't make your bed properly, the sides are not parallel! Didn't you use the measuring tape I gave you?"

May fought the urge to roll her eyes, but she didn't want to do anything to make the man even angrier. "No I guess I forgot, thanks for the reminder," she forced out in a dry-but-not-totally-disrespectful tone. "I'll go clean my room then."

"Very well. I have to tidy up the hideout as well. Your pokemon consistently track mud onto the floors!" May had to repress the urge to scream at him that they were living in a _cave, _but somehow she held her tongue and just stormed back to the cave.

"I'm almost like...a hundred percent sure that Maxie only puts up with me because Archie wants me around," May commented to her pokemon as she slid down against the door. The creatures scattered around her room gazed at her blankly. May's eyes trailed down to the faint prints of dirt on the carpet. "Maxie's right, you guys _do _track in mud." She sighed and made her way to the bedside.

"Sableye?" her puppet pokemon chirped with a tilt of its head and the glint of its diamond eyes. "Sable?" All of her pokemon gazed quizzically at the girl and her measuring tape, and May sighed. "I have to _measure_ the sides and make sure they're parallel to each other."

"Swampert!"

"No trust me, if it's even slightly off Maxie will notice." A smile tilted at her lips. "They don't call him Nerd Boy for nothing I guess. We gotta like...make sure that everything is perfectly in place." She tugged a Skitty doll out of her Pikachu's mouth. "That means plushies are neatly on the bed too!"

"Pika..."

"Tedious work, I know," May giggled. Swellow's wing caught a CD player on her nightstand and flicked the switch. Immediately, music flowed from the speakers and May whirled to them. "Guys! Guys what are you doing? You know Maxie doesn't like loud music!" But she paused when she saw her pokemon wiggling their butts to the exciting beat. A smile broke over May's face and she started to giggle, more at ease. "You guys are silly."

The pokemon excitedly pranced about and danced about in a circle. Laughing, May could only join them and kicked off her shoes to dance on the bed. If Maxie knew he'd have her head, but she could hear the sound of a vacuum outside of the door anyway. May laughed and twirled around with her pokemon, not noticing her curious little Sableye had sauntered out of the room.

"You guys really know how to cheer me up! Maybe if I just stay in here with you five, these three days will fly by!" She fell to the bed laughing and her excited pokemon bounced along with her. Through her giggles, the girl noticed the empty spot her Sableye had stood in. "Hey...where's Sableye?"

It was then that May caught the sight of a purple creature lumbering towards a night side table in Archie and Maxie's room. May's heart caught in her throat and she darted rapidly towards the room, scooping up her tiny puppet. "Sableye, no!" She pulled back with the pouting pokemon and landed hard on her backside. "What are you doing? We aren't even supposed to be in here, Sableye! We're gonna get into so much trouble!"

She held a hand over Sableye's mouth and gazed around the room. Two different team flags hung from the wall, with a map of Hoenn and a sailboat in a bottle. Archie didn't mind either her or Brendan coming into their bedroom, but...Maxie did. He was very strict on keeping his private stuff away from her—save for the rare night she slept with them both if she was sick or had an awful nightmare.

"Sableye come on! Let's go!" The ghost pokemon wriggled from her arms and blatantly ignored her, climbing the bedside table and tugging open its drawers. "Sableye! Do you want to go into time out in your pokeball?" The naughty ghost responded by tossing a photo album to the ground.

"That's it!" May raised the capsule warningly. "I told you!" A page of the open album caught the girl's eye and she blinked as she reluctantly picked up the heavy album. "Whoa...hey, look at this!" She pointed to a photo, grinning. "It's Maxie and Archie!" It was a picture of them when they were children. Maxie's scientific goggles were replaced with large frames and Archie had an eye patch. Obviously even back _then_ he wanted to be a pirate! "Look how cute they are!"

The Sableye pulled at more things in the drawer and gazed intently at a glass case holding something dark inside. She turned it around in her raggedy hands and May grabbed it back.

"Careful, Sableye! We don't want to break this...what the heck is it?" May squinted her eyes at the glass and turned it over. It was a rock formation, with some sort of interesting indents in it. "This is...really weird. Is this a rock of some sort?"

_"__May!"_ a sharp voice snarled from the door. The child was so startled the case fumbled in her hands. Both her, Sableye and Maxie made a grab for it at once, but the glass hit the ground, shattering into a million pieces. The fossil inside hit the hard ground and chipped, a crack splitting up it.

May heard Maxie's breath hold and her own heart thudded against her chest in a panic. She had no idea what that rock was, but it had to be pretty important to be in a glass case. "Maxie, I..."

"What...have you done?"

"It was an accident!" May cried, her voice trembling. "I didn't mean it Maxie!" He ignored her, pushing past her and trying to scoop up the fragments of what remained of the object. "I got—you scared me when you yelled and I dropped-"

"You weren't even supposed to be _in here!" _the man yelled. Somehow a tall spindly nerd struck more fear into the child's heart than any legendary pokemon ever could or would. "This is why you don't touch my things! Do you have any idea what this is?!" He didn't wait for her to finish and May could see genuine pain in the man's eyes. "This is the very first fossil I ever found," he told her, gazing sorrowfully down at the soiled relic. "The first fossil that Archie and I ever found together."

May fought back the tears. The guilt made her want to throw up, and the thought that Archie could be just as angry at her was terrifying. "Maxie, I didn't know..."

"Of course you didn't!" the man snapped back viciously. "You'll never know just what it takes to unearth one of these, or how deep into Mount Chimney we had to venture to find this fossil!"

"I can fix it!" the child protested and tried to figure out in her mind if any of her pokemon's moves could somehow repair the cracks or even the glass. Maybe she could even get some super glue, but she wasn't sure if it would heal rock properties.

"You can't fix it, it's ruined!" he snarled and slammed the fossil down on the bedside table.

"You're just gonna break it more!"

"I don't need some stupid child to tell me what to do!"

May recoiled in shock and hurt, and became just as angry. "Don't call me stupid!" She felt awful for breaking something Maxie treasured so much but she was sick of the man's treatment of her, and didn't understand the complications or even impossibility of finding another identical fossil. "Can't you...just get another?"

"Of course you think it's that simple," he snapped. "Of course you think it's as easy as finding another one of these with your ignorant mind!"

May gritted her teeth. "Well I'm sorry I'm not a super intelligent scientist like you!"

"Of course you aren't!" Maxie's temper was boiling. "You're nothing but a _child_ who would be _nothing _without her pokemon there to help her!"

May went completely silent after that and just stared at the man as if he was a complete stranger she didn't even know. She opened her mouth to speak but the tears filled her eyes and clogged her voice. Maxie turned to pick up the glass and looked back to find her gone. All that remained in the room was a sad, droopy little Sableye gazing up at him with disappointed and sad diamond eyes. Maxie smothered a sick feeling in his chest and waved to the ghost pokemon. "Go on! You leave too!"

* * *

><p>May sat at the edge of her bed hiccuping out sobs as her pokemon tried in vain to comfort her. Swellow wrapped its wings around her and Pikachu tried to stroke her hair, but the distraught girl shook them off. "I can't believe he'd even say that to me," she whispered, pained. "I was right, he doesn't care about me. Maxie only tolerates me because of Archie. And now...I just made him hate me even more."<p>

"Pika..." Pikachu crooned sadly, a yellow paw wiping her tears. The girl clutched the pokemon like a plushie.

"I should just go stay with Mom," May whispered into the soft yellow fur. "All I do is make his life miserable." Tear filled eyes looked to the door. Maxie was probably cleaning up the glass and brooding about how much he hated her.

"I don't know what's so complicated about finding fossils. If you go deep enough into a cave or something you can find one can't you?" Her pokemon exchanged looks and looked back at her, shrugging their shoulders in unison. "I may not be a scientist...but I think I can find a rock in a mountain!" She hopped up and sniffled. "I fought a Kyogre after all! I saved the world! If there's anyone that can do this it's me!" She pumped her fist.

"Swampert!" her Swampert exclaimed, slapping its claws together eagerly. Swellow crowed and the rest of her pokemon hopped around at the prospect of more adventuring.

"Of course!" May laughed, wiping her eyes. "It'll be another grand expedition for..."

_"__You're nothing but a child who would be nothing without her pokemon there to help her!"_

May's heart twisted at the memory and her lip started to quiver. After a moment, her eyes hardened in foolish absolution. "No, you know what? None of you are coming with me." Her pokemon cried out at once. "Trust me on this, I can find that fossil on my own."

Her pokemon exchanged worried looks, a sinking feeling in their stomachs. Something felt ominous...

"I love you guys, but I'll really be fine. I know my way through Mount Chimney well enough..." Her eyes flashed. "And I _can _do more without my pokemon by my side!" She tossed things in a backpack—a little shovel, a map, rope—all things she thought she might need for some fossil digging. Luckily her backpack already had enough in it from previous adventures that she didn't have to leave to get stuff and have Maxie question where she was going. ...That is, if Maxie would even care.

"Maybe I make Maxie's life terrible, but I can at least do this for him to try and make it up to him somehow." Even if it was just a bit, maybe then she wouldn't feel totally useless. "I'll be back by nightfall." Before she left she grabbed her Eon Flute. She needed _some _way to reach Mount Chimney.

* * *

><p>"It's around here," May said, eying the crumpled map in her hands. She should really know where it was already, but the girl had explored so many places that some of them just got pushed to the back of her mind. "Mount Chimney ahead!" May told her pokemon with a light pat to the Latias's head.<p>

"La!" the flying pokemon crooned, eying the large structure with both excitement and trepidation. Smoke poured from the mountain's opening and the rim of the rocky edges glowed a fiery red. "This goes without saying, but don't dive into the opening of the volcano," May laughed. "I know it seems like an easy option—but it's definitely a deadly one."

The Latias snorted and flicked it's head wings into her face in response, diving down to touch down on the rocky base outside of the mountain. May hopped off her pokemon's back and shrugged her backpack onto her shoulders. She gazed up to the top of the mountain. Somehow it seemed even larger and more foreboding then before.

"Well...here I go, I guess." The Latias flew up in front of her, chirping happily. "No, no...you need to stay here."

"La?!" the pokemon cried in alarm. It eyed her belt. It wouldn't be so worried were it not for the fact that May's belt was empty. She didn't have her pokemon with her. "I'll really be okay. I won't be there long—in and out! And I know my way around well enough." The Latias looked doubtful. "Stay here," May told her.

Latias trilled in distress, but May gently tied the end of the rope around the flying pokemon's waist and tied the other edge to a rock. "So you won't be tempted to follow me..."

"La..."

She shuddered as she climbed the steps of the mountain, feeling cold despite the boiling lava that lay underneath the rocks.

* * *

><p>Maxie growled as he swept the last of the glass shards into a dust pan and tossed it into a trash can. "Cleaning the base has taken even longer than usual thanks to that meddling girl!" he huffed. "A whole expedition, ruined..."<p>

He replaced the damaged fossil a best as he could on the bedside table and up righted something that had been knocked over. He felt a pang when he saw what it was: A photo, of him, Archie and May wearing their silly costumes at the father-daughter picnic. He tried to ignore the photo, but something in him compelled him to pick it up.

Expression softer and gentle, Maxie gazed over towards May's door. He hadn't heard a sound since the girl ran off to her room. There had to be something he could do to make things up to her...

"May?" Maxie called, knocking on the girl's door. "May, are you in there?" He hesitated. "I'm...I'm going to have a cup of tea—hot chocolate, and some cookies. Would you like to join me?" He didn't receive a response, so Maxie opened the door.

The room was dark and when he switched on a light, all the man saw were five pokemon, curled up on the bed and floor. For some reason, despite the fact Maxie knew very well that the girl could be anywhere in their large base, an irrational panic seized him. "Where's May?"

The five pokemon exchanged worried looks and that was enough for Maxie's heart to plummet. Something was wrong. May didn't go anywhere without her pokemon on her belt. "...She isn't in the base, is she." It wasn't even a question.

Swampert and Pikachu exchanged looks with the other pokemon. For Maxie that was enough. "I know where she is..." Barely having the time to scoop up his pokeballs, Maxie darted from the hideout, and no increment of time could measure just how fast he did it.

* * *

><p>May never felt fearful when entering Mount Chimney before...but she never left defenseless either. She had her pokemon with her and this time, she was equipped with nothing but her shovel and some rope.<p>

"...I don't even know where to start," she realized, staring about the volcano in a dumbfounded stupor. She was standing in the middle of a volcano with a little shovel in hand and only now did she realize how stupid she looked. Good thing no one could see her. The pokemon that could were probably laughing at her.

May heard a small grunt and she turned to see a wild Numel. Her blood froze and she knew she needed to move very cautiously so not to provoke an attack. The camel pierced her with its gaze.

"Numel..."

"Yeah...okay." Slowly, May backed up and put her hands up to assure the camel she meant no harm. "Look, you just go on your way okay? You don't bother me and I won't bother you." The camel narrowed its eyes but May broke eye contact and moved towards the rocks.

"I didn't even ask Maxie where the heck to find fossils! I'm not an arche...archeo...oh, I can't even say it!" She almost threw the shovel to the ground, but Maxie's stinging words hounded at her skull. "...I can prove to him that I can do this." Determinedly, May turned back to the rocks and tried to calculate a way to scale down the rocks without tumbling into the boiling lava.

"Maybe I should just...start digging." She had no idea how deep she was supposed to go and wanted to avoid the lava if it was at all possible.

"Numel..." May turned to glare at the camel, wary to see the wild pokemon had drawn even closer to her. It snorted at her. "Numel!"

"I'm not going to do anything to you!" May grunted at the pokemon, shoving the shovel even deeper into the rocks. "Get out of here alright?" The camel started stamping its feet.

The girl flinched when she heard the distant crow of bats; Zubats, Golbats, Crowbats... As long as she stayed away from the dark parts of the mountain she should be safe. Maybe if she went closer to the lava she could avoid them all together. Cautiously, May began to dig around, sticking the shovel into the easier parts of the rock. She wasn't even sure what she was looking for, but figured if she found a rock that looked weird maybe it'd be a fossil.

She chipped away more at an opening in the rocks until pieces started to chip away. Suddenly the distant screeching grew louder. May's heart started to pound. A deafening flap filled her ears and she was knocked back by a sudden swarm of angry Golbats that filled the air. The sounds they made were absolutely deafening.

"Latias!" May tried to scream to be heard over the screams of the bats. They swooped at her and May's hands flailed towards her belt to find nothing. No pokemon. "Stop! I didn't mean it! I can fix your home!" She batted uselessly at the swarm, but it was no use. A piercing pain punctured her neck and May found herself instantly immobilized as the creature started hungrily sucking at her neck. May's limbs quivered and her knees buckled, the energy starting to leave her and her vision started to fade.

"Numel!" Suddenly, the same little Numel from before charged as fast as its slow little limbs could muster, sending a blast of fire towards the bats. They screeched and withdrew from the girl, a few of them starting to target the little fire camel.

One of the Golbats sent a blast of supersonic towards the camel and it shook its head furiously to try and shake off the fog from its mind. May however was not quite so fortunate. Pokemon attacks that hit a human were twice as effective and dangerous for them, and harder to recover from, so May's eyes glazed over immediately.

Already dazed from the attack, May started to stumble around. It sounded like she was under the water and all she could hear was a combination of noises: screeching from the Golbats, the ringing of her ears—something that sounded almost like someone shouting her name in the distance? She stumbled, disoriented, to what she thought was the exit of the mountain.

"Nume! Numel!" But it was the edge of the formations leading to the lava instead, and Numel could only watch in shock as the girl tumbled off the edge, and to the lava below. "Numel!" The little pokemon stared over the edge below and saw the girl in a crumpled heap, motionless on the rocks at the edge of the lava.

"Camerupt, use ember!" A shot of fire suddenly soared into the air towards the angry bats above. They screeched in pain as the flames touched their wings and hurriedly flew away from the entrance, letting Maxie make his way through the swarm. His Crobat attacked the remaining swarm, but was hardly a match for dozens of angry bats. "May!" Maxie desperately called out. He couldn't see the girl anywhere. "May!"

"Numel! Nume!" the wild Numel grunted. Maxie turned his head towards the little fire camel, seeing the desperation on its face. "What is it?! Have you seen a girl with a red bow?" The Numel waddled as hurriedly as it could to the edge of the rocks, and fearing the worst, Maxie shakily peered over the rocks.

There was nothing to describe the terror and agony that slammed his chest at once at what he saw. Maxie had to wonder, as he scaled down the rocks, if this was what a heart attack felt like. "May!" he screamed to the motionless form on the rocks. He faltered in his steps, his knees shaking. Maxie fell to the ground and threw a hand to his mouth. The image of the child he was certain was dead blurred behind a wall of tears. "Oh Arceus, no..."

This was his fault, all of his fault...

"Numel!"

A loud crack shook Maxie abruptly from his grief and his head shot up to see the ground May was laying on was beginning to crack and break away. "May!" With a loud tear of the earth, the ground broke away and the foundation May had laid on was now a teeter totter in a deadly sea of red.

"Nnn..." The child on the rock shifted. Slowly, her eyes opened. The ringing in her ears started to fade and the sounds around her and her surroundings became more clear. May could see the frantic man and the pulsing, steaming liquid around her. She sat up, terrified, and she screamed.

"It's alright May!" Maxie tried to soothe the terrified child, even when his own heart was in danger of beating out of his chest. "Stay still! You're going to be alright, just listen to my voice!"

It was the most bitter and frightening sense of irony that Maxie had ever experienced in his life: To have the thing he loved and studied, volcanoes...become something of his worst nightmare in less than a second. The rock that May was on began to slowly break away, and screaming, May withdrew her legs to try and keep them away from the lava.

"No! May!" It was no use. The child was at too much of a distance from the man, and the boiling lava made it impossible to navigate. One wrong move, one single roll and the child would tumble into the lava. That'd be the end of her. "Numel!" he shouted to the little fire camel. "Get...get help!" The little camel waddled off as fast as it could go. Maxie had no idea where he even sent the little thing.

"Maxie, I'm scared!" May sobbed.

"I know..." Maxie held out a hand as if he could magically soothe the girl in some way. "I'm afraid too." He searched around desperately for some way to fish the girl out, but his Crobat was unconscious from the fight with the Golbats and there was no other pokemon near him that could fly.

Both were stranded at different lengths and May was running out of time. Maxie looked around desperately for some way to pull the girl out, but there was nothing. The platform drifted closer to land and Maxie did some quick calculations in his head. If she jumped now, she might just have enough distance...

The ground rumbled and the rock split more. No time for calculations. "May, you need to jump!"

"What?!"

"You're close enough that you can jump to safety!"

"No!" May sobbed and balled up more. "I can't do it!"

"Yes you _can!" _Maxie told her urgently, but his expression softened to something that May had never seen before. "I won't let you fall..."

They locked eyes; twin fearful orbs gazing right at each other. "Trust me," Maxie coaxed to the girl. He leaned over the edge of the rocks with his arms outstretched. "You're going to be okay."

The child's tearful eyes darted from the lava to Maxie. The ledge she was on crumbled more, until she was practically tottering on the edge of it. She shut her eyes tightly and took a huge lunge. She grabbed onto the side of the rocks and Maxie quickly took a hold of her arms, tugging back with all his might until he pulled the girl to safety.

They both fell backwards to the ground and May sobbed uncontrollably as she clung to Maxie as if he was the last remnant on earth. Without a second thought, Maxie's arms wrapped just as tightly around the child, practically crushing her to his chest as she sobbed harshly into him.

"Oh May..." the man whispered, his voice a weak croak. "I thought you were..." He couldn't even say the word.

Her hysterics calmed slowly, comforted by the man's surprisingly warm arms. She still shook like a leaf. "I... I thought so too." Something dripped onto her forehead and May looked up, shocked to see Maxie's eyes filled with tears. "Maxie, are you...crying?"

"I..." He didn't even bother to rebuke the question and he brushed his hand over his eyes to find them wet. "It appears so. A sight you were certain you'd never see, hm?" The girl giggled softly.

The tearful reunion was interrupted by an increased and constant rumble of the mountain. It was so intense at this point that the two could hardly stand and Maxie tried to stagger to his feet with May in his arms. The lava near them began to bubble and slosh like an angry sea.

"La! Laaa!" The two gazed up from the rumbling to see Latias flying above, with the wild Numel on its back. The rope around its neck was burned at the edge from the Numel's escape effort. It trilled in distress when it spotted the two and dove down to them.

"Latias!" May cried joyfully from Maxie's arms. The pokemon dove forward and grabbed them both just as a geyser of lava splashed the spot they were standing in. Safe away from the eruption, Maxie and May watched with morbid fascination as the area they were in mere minutes before filled with lava.

"I hope the pokemon living there are alright," May murmured. "Even those stupid Golbats."

"They'll be fine, child. Pokemon can sense when there's going to be an eruption and that's probably why the mountain was barren compared to what it usually is." He placed a hand gently on the girl's forehead. "In the meantime, let's get you home and tend to your injuries."

May nodded and was barely able to get out a mumble of thanks before the exhaustion and ordeal took a toll on her and everything faded to gray.

* * *

><p>She awoke surrounded by warm, soft flannel and quilts, and she felt a pressure sitting on the edge of legs. May flickered her eyes open and winced at a blinding pain that made her shut them again.<p>

"Easy now," Maxie spoke gently. "Welcome back...you passed out on our way back here. I should have figured that the ordeal you went through and the combined adrenaline would be more than what your little body could handle."

"It wasn't a good type of adrenaline," May mumbled and Maxie chuckled.

"I wouldn't imagine. By the way...there's a lot of pokemon of yours that are quite worried for you." He leaned back as every one of May's pokemon climbed the bed (the two that were too big stayed by her side to nuzzle her face).

May laughed as she scooped up and cuddled her Pikachu and Sableye. "I missed you guys too." She looked over them to Maxie. "I thought you didn't like pokemon on the bed."

"I'll make an exception this time," he said wryly. "Oh, and there's someone else who is curious on how you're doing." He looked over his shoulder, and the little Numel from before curiously made its way to the bed.

"The little Numel!" May pet the camel's head. "Hey, thanks buddy! If it weren't for you I'd probably be melted to a puddle!"

"Numel!"

"It seems the pokemon has taken quite a liking to you," Maxie commented. "Perhaps you should consider training it?"

"You'd let me keep it?" May asked, blinking.

"Of course, it's a fire type after all! Better than those water monsters." Swampert snorted, offended.

"You must be really angry, huh?" May sighed, not having the courage to look Maxie in the eyes.

"I am." She flinched. "At myself, not you."

"You are?" the girl asked, wincing at the pain from the bump on her head. "Oh, it hurts... You must think I'm the biggest idiot on the planet. But then, you already thought that."

"I never thought that," Maxie told her. "Even when you were out in the lava and looked like you weren't going to survive the conditions, you did," Maxie told her as he pressed a cold compress to the bump on her forehead. "You're special that way."

"I thought you said I was nothing without my pokemon," May muttered, her eyes lowered away from him and her tone bitter and hurt. His face softened into one of guilt immediately.

"I said that in a moment of extreme anger and for that I'll forever regret it, but I did not mean what I said. There was no way I could have." He pulled the blankets further up to her chin and tucked her in, a hand hesitantly resting on the girl's. After a moment of contemplation, May's fingers inched slightly over to his questionably.

"May, you may be the champion because of the strength of your pokemon, but that's not who you are and why you are strong and special." He smiled gently. "You're special because of your inner strength, your good heart. You're special because you opened our eyes and you saved us."

The child's skeptical expression became embarrassed and she drew the covers up over her mouth.

"Who knows what would have become of our world, what would have become of us..." He shook his head. "The countless lives we could have taken and destroyed, the endless pokemon and humans alike that would have suffered. You opened our eyes, showed us what we were doing was bringing harm...and you did not need your pokemon for that." His smile widened. "So perhaps you needed your pokemon to become the champion...but you only needed you to be the savior of our world. Archie and I will be forever grateful to you for that, for the rest of our lives."

May's eyes became dewy and her mouth creased. "I thought you hated me... I thought you just kept me around and looked after me because that's what Archie wanted. I thought if I did fall in the lava...you wouldn't care." Maxie's heart tightened.

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you had..."

May's eyes filled with further tears. "Really?" she asked, sniffling. "But the fossil... I broke it."

He shook his head, the value of the fossil now worthless to him compared to what he almost lost over it. "The fossil...is simply a meaningless rock. It's worth doesn't even begin to compare to yours. I would rather watch all the research I have ever done in my life burn in the lava than seeing you be hurt." And he meant every word.

"But I thought that fossil was the most special thing in the world to you," May said, smiling through her tears.

"No...the most special thing to me is who I almost lost today." He cleared his throat. "May, even when we just met I respected you, and we were enemies at the time. I saw a strong girl who'd fight for what she believed in, just as I would. And you became a dear friend to Archie and I after you helped us see. Lately you have come to mean even more to Archie...and until today I didn't realize..."

Maxie lowered his head. "I know I'm not as...open with my affection as Archie is, but I assure you that you..." He trailed off, not very articulate with matters of the heart. "I've grown...accustomed to having you around. No, I..." He paused and he looked at the curious and tearful girl. Finally, he gave a resigned sigh and a slight smile. "...I love you just as much." The old Maxie frown returned. "But don't let this get to your head!"

The girl tossed off the countless layers of blankets before Maxie could protest and threw her arms around his neck tightly. "I love you too." Maxie's hand faltered for a moment before he smiled and hesitantly folded his arms around her. The embrace was foreign to him, but he decided after the child fell asleep with her head in his lap and the pokemon curled around them, it was something that he could get used to.

* * *

><p><em>AN: I couldn't remember if Camerupts were able to swim in lava! I mean I know their bodies are volcanoes, but they still have skin and bones so for the safe side I didn't have Camerupt swim in the lava XD And since Mount Chimney doesn't have wild pokemon (since it's just this lava crater) I improvised_


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